Militant farmer José Bové and two thousand supporters returned Sunday to the same McDonald's restaurant he helped dismantle two years ago, this time holding a more restrained rally to protest unchecked globalization and demand support for farmers.

The mustachioed sheep farmer and fellow members of the
Farmers' Confederation, a radical union, rode
tractors into the southern town of Millau and
surrounded the fast-food restaurant before addressing the
crowd.

Sunday's protest came on the two-year anniversary of
the attack on the Millau McDonald's, a high-profile
demonstration against the ills of globalization that
led to
Bové's conviction in a French court.

About 70 police officers cordoned off the parking lot
to
prevent the protesters, many wearing shirts that read
"The world is not merchandise," from approaching the
McDonald's. Large signs that read "closed due to
threats"
were hung on the restaurant's windows.

Bové and his allies pledged to continue their protest
as
long as necessary to gain support from the French
government for farmers hit by a U.S. surcharge against Roquefort cheese, which is made in a nearby village.

The protesters have targeted McDonald's as a symbol of how unchecked globalization can trample local culture - such as French cuisine.

"We are the hostages of the World Trade Organization
and the United States," Bové told protesters. "We
won't
leave until negotiations have begun with the French
government."

Bové said his supporters would remain in Millau until
at
least Monday evening, depending on progress made
during his discussions with EU Trade Commissioner
Pascal Lamy, planned for Monday in Brussels.

Bové remains free pending appeal. He has also been
fined for briefly holding three Agriculture Ministry
officials captive in the town of Rodez in 1999.

Bové said he spoke with Agriculture Minister Jean
Glavany on Sunday, demanding support for French
farmers hurt by the U.S. surcharge on Roquefort - one
of the many EU luxury products that the United States
slapped with a surtax after the World Trade
Organization ruled the European Union improperly rejected U.S.
hormone-treated beef.

Bové also said he asked for a halt to tests of
genetically modified crops in fields in southern France.

"We've given an ultimatum that if the French
government doesn't rip up those fields, we'll do it ourselves ... as
early as this week," he said.

Under a scorching sun, farmers with deep tans and
youths in tie-dyed T-shirts called out in support for Bové
as he approached the restaurant in a blue Ford tractor
with a pipe in his mouth.

A marching band dressed in African-style batik clothes
played jazz near the restaurant, nestled on a hillside
overlooking Millau and the Tarn River.

Cars filled the parking lot at the Millau McDonald's
on Saturday evening, but many diners were unaware of the
protest scheduled for Sunday. Some were sympathetic to
Bove's crusade against "malbouffe" - or "foul
food" - while others insisted the attack against
McDonald's was just an anti-American ploy.

"I agree with the battle against bad food, but not the
methods (Bové) used," said Thierry Ciabatti, 37, a visitor
from Nice, who was eating a Big Mac on the restaurant
patio.

"McDonald's is a bad habit for kids, and it leads to
loss of our culinary heritage - but the reason they attack
here is because they know it will make a big splash."